From Health Data Management,
Oct 05, 2005

Keeping Tabs With RFID

Early adopters are finding myriad uses for the wireless technology, but many in the health care industry are taking a wait-and-see approach.

By Beckie Kelly Schuerenberg, Senior Editor

Is the health care industry ready for the next big thing? Vendors and advocates of radio frequency identification technology can’t wait to find out.

Every few years, there’s an industry buzz about a technology that overenthusiastic consultants say will turn the health care I.T. market upside down. Think electronic records. Think wireless technologies and computerized order entry systems.

RFID technology has assumed the mantle of the latest and greatest I.T. But RFID still is an emerging technology that lacks solid standards and a proven track record. In addition, there’s a debate whether RFID technology is more effective than tried-and-true bar coding systems.

As a result, the majority of health care organizations are not rushing to adopt RFID systems. Many are waiting to see how the technology fares at the handful of organizations that have installed the systems.

“There are several health care organizations conducting pilots to determine if RFID can work for them and if there’s a business case to support it,” says Luis Taveras, a partner in the health and life sciences practice at the New York-based consulting firm Accenture. “But most organizations still are in the ‘awareness’ phase.”

RFID systems comprise radio frequency readers—hand-held devices or mounted receivers similar to wireless access points—and RFID tags that contain microchips and antennas.

The technology can be either active or passive. In active systems, the RFID tags contain small batteries and send signals to readers. Passive systems use tags without batteries: the tags are activated by radio signals sent from a mounted or hand-held reader.

RFID tags, unlike bar codes, can be read even if they’re hidden from sight. The tags also have read/write capabilities so they can be reused, and can store much more information than bar codes.

Early health care adopters have found a variety of uses for the technology, including tracking equipment and personnel, and identifying patents during the medication administration process.

In addition, some patients have taken the somewhat controversial step of having themselves implanted with RFID tags to enable clinicians to access information from the tags in an emergency.

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